Showing posts with label Trayvon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trayvon. Show all posts

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Trayvon Martin died for your knockout game sins


By TBogg
Thursday, January 16, 2014 14:17 EST


Miami Heat players wear hoodies to support the family of Trayvon Martin, who was killed in Florida last month by a neighborhood watchman, allegedly because he was wearing a hoodie and looking suspicious. Photo: LeBron James, Twitter.







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  • WND’s Jack Cashill, who has made what passes for a career by claiming that Barack Obama’s Dreams of My Father was actually written by Bill Ayers because everyone knows that black people don’t write books (no duh), is back to explain that Trayvon Martin was actually playing the knockout game that night he flaunted his blackness in order to entice George Zimmerman into stalking and murdering him.  As I am sure you are aware the “Knockout Game” is a game created by Matt Drudge and Fox News to make Drudge readers and Fox News viewers freak out more than they normally do when they see a black person coming towards them on the street.  This is why white people murmur a quick ” ‘Sup? ” and then look away hoping that they won’t be gang murdered for their mobility scooter which will then be “pimped out” and used for midnight Fast & Furious Hip Hop Hoverround drag races.  Also, something something about Obama phones and midnight basketball.


    Here,  let Cashill explain how Trayvon Martin wanted to be The Godfather of Knockout Games but chose poorly when he street flirted with a woman-beating gun-toting rage-monster like George Zimmerman:



    The hunters tend to prey on those who seem vulnerable. This includes old people, women, children and, most often, clueless male liberals – like the Pittsburgh teacher seen in this video – who have trained themselves not to “profile” young black men even when they approach with malice in their eyes.


    White urbanites remain clueless because the mainstream media have chosen not to clue them in. Even when local TV stations cover the incidents, as in the Pittsburgh assault above, they are careful to avoid even hinting at a racial motive.


    The media’s collective failure to acknowledge the racial nature of the Knockout Game enabled them to turn would-be knockout king Trayvon Martin into a martyr and his victim, George Zimmerman, into a racist vigilante.


    If he had not had an audience, Trayvon Martin would likely have made it back safely to the townhouse where he was staying in Sanford, Fla., that rainy night in February 2012.
    Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/trayvon-was-playing-the-knockout-game/#qHqHX2TKZkqlsIYg.99




    The hunters tend to prey on those who seem vulnerable. This includes old people, women, children and, most often, clueless male liberals – like the Pittsburgh teacher seen in this video – who have trained themselves not to “profile” young black men even when they approach with malice in their eyes.


    White urbanites remain clueless because the mainstream media have chosen not to clue them in. Even when local TV stations cover the incidents, as in the Pittsburgh assault above, they are careful to avoid even hinting at a racial motive.


    The media’s collective failure to acknowledge the racial nature of the Knockout Game enabled them to turn would-be knockout king Trayvon Martin into a martyr and his victim, George Zimmerman, into a racist vigilante.


    If he had not had an audience, Trayvon Martin would likely have made it back safely to the townhouse where he was staying in Sanford, Fla., that rainy night in February 2012.
    Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/trayvon-was-playing-the-knockout-game/#qHqHX2TKZkqlsIYg.99




    The hunters tend to prey on those who seem vulnerable. This includes old people, women, children and, most often, clueless male liberals – like the Pittsburgh teacher seen in this video – who have trained themselves not to “profile” young black men even when they approach with malice in their eyes.


    White urbanites remain clueless because the mainstream media have chosen not to clue them in. Even when local TV stations cover the incidents, as in the Pittsburgh assault above, they are careful to avoid even hinting at a racial motive.


    The media’s collective failure to acknowledge the racial nature of the Knockout Game enabled them to turn would-be knockout king Trayvon Martin into a martyr and his victim, George Zimmerman, into a racist vigilante.


    If he had not had an audience, Trayvon Martin would likely have made it back safely to the townhouse where he was staying in Sanford, Fla., that rainy night in February 2012.
    Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/trayvon-was-playing-the-knockout-game/#qHqHX2TKZkqlsIYg.99



    The hunters tend to prey on those who seem vulnerable. This includes old people, women, children and, most often, clueless male liberals – like the Pittsburgh teacher seen in this video – who have trained themselves not to “profile” young black men even when they approach with malice in their eyes. White urbanites remain clueless because the mainstream media have chosen not to clue them in. Even when local TV stations cover the incidents, as in the Pittsburgh assault above, they are careful to avoid even hinting at a racial motive.
    The media’s collective failure to acknowledge the racial nature of the Knockout Game enabled them to turn would-be knockout king Trayvon Martin into a martyr and his victim, George Zimmerman, into a racist vigilante.
    If he had not had an audience, Trayvon Martin would likely have made it back safely to the townhouse where he was staying in Sanford, Fla., that rainy night in February 2012.



    Audience? There were witnesses?  Only the “the sassy, defiant, plus-sized Rachel Jeantel”  who was having a cellphone conversation with Martin at the time:


    Martin’s audience consisted of one person, the sassy, defiant, plus-sized Rachel Jeantel who talked to Martin by phone throughout the encounter.


    There is no reason to believe anything Jeantel said about the confrontation between Martin and Zimmerman save for her spectacularly un-coached recollection of how Martin first described Zimmerman, namely as a “creepy ass cracker.”


    In sum, Martin saw Zimmerman not as the hulking vigilante the media did but as a vulnerable, possibly gay white man nearly half-a-foot smaller than he.



    So really, Trayvon Martin was actually a racist gay-trolling aspiring knockout game king whose best-laid plan  gang aft-a-agley’d (with emphasis on ‘gang’ ) and now he is dead and George Zimmerman should be a hero to white people and gays everywhere as long as they are not women who date him  because that never ends well  although it generally ends better than it did with Trayvon Martin.


    Then again,  the day is young and news out of Florida is slow…







    The Raw Story



    Trayvon Martin died for your knockout game sins

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Gangsta Trayvon Martin Replaces Baby Jesus in California


Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
December 29, 2013


In an effort to further demonize the Second Amendment and the right of individuals to protect themselves against violence, an artist in California has rearranged a Christmas crèche on the lawn of the Claremont Methodist Church. Instead of the infant Jesus, the nativity scene now features a representation of a bloody Trayvon Martin.


Obama’s son would look like Trayvon martin.


The artist, John Zachary, told the Los Angeles Times he wanted to make the Nativity “relevant to modern times and generate a community conversation” about “gun violence.” Zachary told the newspaper he has repeatedly exploited the Christmastime scene to “spread messages of social justice.”


Members of the community told the Los Angeles Times they disagreed with the brazen politicization of the Christmas scene. The church and its reverend, Dan Lewis, face withering criticism for allowing the exploitation of the birth of Jesus.


“No Christian I know would ever disparage Jesus Christ with such a repulsive image,” a message posted on Facebook stated. “I would never attend your church as a fellow Methodist and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”


Although Trayvon Martin has been repeatedly portrayed as an innocent victim of gun violence by the corporate media, his alleged assailant, George Zimmerman, was acquitted on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges on July 13, 2013.


The case was exploited by the establishment media, Democrats, anti-gun activists, and President Barack Obama, who said prior to the trial that if he had a son he would look like Trayvon Martin.


In May, 2013, during the trial, the Zimmerman defense presented evidence that Trayvon Martin had characterized himself as a “gangsta” and was involved in a number of fights at school, according to the New York Times.


Gangsta rap, a sub-genre of hip-hop, often promotes and glorifies violence, crime, serial killing, racism, sexism, and homophobia.


This article was posted: Sunday, December 29, 2013 at 7:55 pm










Infowars



Gangsta Trayvon Martin Replaces Baby Jesus in California

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

After Trayvon: A New Civil Rights Movement?

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After Trayvon: A New Civil Rights Movement?

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Trayvon Killing: Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett Fought Corrupt Police & Prosecutor To Release 911 Tapes

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Trayvon Killing: Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett Fought Corrupt Police & Prosecutor To Release 911 Tapes

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Police chief in Trayvon Martin’s town tells neighborhood watch: No more guns

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Police chief in Trayvon Martin’s town tells neighborhood watch: No more guns

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Moron Wearing "N-Word" Shirt Confronts Trayvon Supporters



“Since the verdict came down in the murder trial of George Zimmerman, there have been a several sad examples of this phenomenon. Today’s comes from a rally f…
Video Rating: 4 / 5



Moron Wearing "N-Word" Shirt Confronts Trayvon Supporters

Monday, September 2, 2013

Obama Was Right to Weigh In on Trayvon Martin Case


To some people, it has been said, all black people look alike. These days, all black issues seem to look alike, too.


What else explains the false comparisons that conservatives who ought to know better insist on making between two horrible, controversial and yet distinctly different racially charged tragedies?


One is the case of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old who was fatally shot in a Florida confrontation with George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who is not black. The other tragic case is Chris Lane, an Australian baseball player who was fatally shot while jogging in Oklahoma where he was attending college.


Quite a number of conservatives have been searching for their own version of the Martin case ever since the original one erupted. Why? They want to catch President Barack Obama in a racial “Gotcha!”


The right has been steamed ever since the president was asked to comment on the Martin case and responded: “My main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son he’d look like Trayvon.”


Reactions to that remark illustrate the sad contours of America’s racial divide. As an African-American, I heard in Obama’s remarks a heartfelt expression of comfort and reassurance to the parents of a teenager that had been killed under suspicious circumstances. But some of my friends — and I’m talking about real friends, not just some figure of speech — heard a cynical expression of racial solidarity and tribalism from a president who is supposed to know better.


To confirm this Obama-is-a-racist narrative, they need to catch Obama in the act of racial hypocrisy. That’s why many of the same conservatives who had insisted race talk didn’t belong in the Trayvon Martin case rushed eagerly to inject it into the awesomely awful Lane case.


Two black teens have been charged with shooting Lane from a passing car allegedly driven by a white friend, who faces lesser charges. One of them was quoted by police as saying they committed this heinous act because they were “bored.”


Let’s be clear: None of these kids is a credit to his race. But Rush Limbaugh outdid his own high levels of windbag distortion in calling the Lane killing “Trayvon Martin in reverse, only worse.”


Fox News’ Eric Bolling, cohost of “The Five,” declared that mainstream media weren’t covering the “racially charged” Oklahoma shooting because it “seems they prefer to report on crimes where minorities are the victims.”


Never mind that Oklahoma District Attorney Jason Hicks denied that race motivated Lane’s killing. Why let mere facts get in the way of blimp-sized bloviations?


Black conservatives weighed in, too. One of them, Bob Woodson, head of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprises, brought a racially mixed luncheon crowd of Republicans to their feet with: “We should not wait for a white face before we get outraged. Evil is evil, whether it wears a white face or not.”


That’s right. Well said, Bob. In fact, despite rumors to the contrary, even the much-maligned Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have agreed in public with that much!


But outrage needs to be aimed at constructive action. To claim that the nationwide protests were only about Martin’s slaying misses the point. The outrage in Florida was aimed at how poorly Martin’s case was investigated.


Zimmerman was questioned quickly and released without charges. Meanwhile Martin’s body continued to lay in a morgue, unidentified and unclaimed, while his parents wondered all night where he was.


The parents wanted answers, but news media, including Fox, were not very interested in the story until activists and black talk radio stepped in. After protests grew, the state opened a proper investigation that led to Zimmerman’s prosecution.


Police say they released Zimmerman because they doubted they would be able to get a conviction. They may have been right, considering how Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law strengthens pleas of self-defense. Zimmerman’s not-guilty verdict fueled more protests to change such laws.


In short, let’s keep the real issues straight. The Chris Lane atrocity brought a swift response. The system worked. The Trayvon tragedy raised serious questions about whether the system works for everybody. Presidents always should raise that question, no matter what color they happen to be. 



Page is a Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist specializing in urban issues. He is based in Washington, D.C. E-mail: cptime@aol.com



RealClearPolitics – Articles



Obama Was Right to Weigh In on Trayvon Martin Case

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Joy Reid: Conservative Outrage Of Chris Lane Murder Is "Revenge" For Trayvon





JOY ANN REID, MSNBC HOST: Chris Lane is absolutely getting lost in it, as is the issue of guns. I want to go back just for a second to the Trayvon Martin case, because, I think, that is what spawned the desire for revenge almost for people on the right… Just for the fact that African-Americans dared to be outraged about the case, about George Zimmerman not being arrested.


There is a sense of vengeance on the other side. And one of the things you did see, Heather [McGhee], was Trayvon Martin portrayed as a thug and a criminal. There was one person who said he was a rabid dog that needed to be put down. So, you now have in the wake of that, because for whatever reason — angry that people were upset — this need to portray almost all black men as criminal, almost inherently. And now one of the things that’s fueling that in the Chris Lane case, is you had this tweet by one of the alleged killers in which he said ’90% of white people are nasty #hatethem.’ So now we’re off to the races.




RealClearPolitics Video Log



Joy Reid: Conservative Outrage Of Chris Lane Murder Is "Revenge" For Trayvon

Friday, August 2, 2013

Forget the Old South: Trayvon Martin Was No Emmett Till


Why are so many people so desperate to hold onto the idea that America is as racist as it has ever been?


The phenomenon is apparent in much of the commentary on the George Zimmerman case. Facts were blithely ignored — the fact that Zimmerman is Hispanic, not white, by current standards; the evidence that he and not his victim, Trayvon Martin, was pummeled and wounded; the failure to find any hint of anti-black bias in Zimmerman’s past.


Instead there was a desperate longing to see this unhappy incident as a case of a white racist hunting down and murdering an innocent black — with a view to establishing that this kind of thing happens all the time.
It isn’t. Yes, young black men are homicide victims in large and tragic numbers. But the perpetrators are almost always other young black men, as in President Obama’s hometown of Chicago, where almost every weekend there are multiple such murders.


Nevertheless, journalism is full of opinion articles, many written by people who should know better, likening the death of Trayvon Martin to the murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955.


Till was a 14-year-old black boy raised in Chicago who, on a summer trip to his native Mississippi, “wolf-whistled” at a white woman. Two white men abducted and brutally murdered him.


They were tried, and the all-white jury acquitted them after deliberating 67 minutes. Months later, the defendants told Look magazine’s William Bradford Huie that they had indeed killed the young man.


The Emmett Till case attracted national attention, with heavy media coverage. Rep. Charles Diggs, one of three blacks in Congress, attended the trial. National magazines ran pictures of the grinning defendants.


In the process, Northerners were forced to confront the brutality with which white Southerners enforced the subjection of blacks.


This went beyond the laws requiring segregated schools, buses and drinking fountains. Also in place was an unwritten code of behavior, breach of which could result in violent retaliation.


Blacks were called by their first names and could approach whites’ houses only by the back door, and black men could never, never ogle white women.


This was unknown to most Northerners. As I explain in my forthcoming book, “Shaping Our Nation: How Surges of Migration Transformed America and Its Politics,” there was almost no migration between South and North in the years between the Civil War and World War II.


Southern mores were so unknown in the North that Yale psychologist John Dollard’s 1937 book “Caste and Class in a Southern Town,” based on five months’ field work in Indianola, Miss., was hailed as a great revelation, akin to Margaret Mead’s writing on Samoa.


Yet everything in it was common knowledge for every 10-year-old, black or white, in Indianola.


The great genius of the civil rights movement was to make Northerners face the reality — and the violence — of the segregation system. The Emmett Till case was one of the first incidents that forced them to do so. It was followed a year later by Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the back of the bus in 1955 and Martin Luther King’s resulting Montgomery bus boycott.


It is sometimes said that laws cannot change customs. But the Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning racial discrimination in hiring and public accommodations, did in fact change behavior in the South. It not only ended legally enforced segregation but effectively ended the unwritten code of black subjugation.


Which is to say that the America of our time — the America of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman — is hugely different from and hugely better than the America of Emmett Till.


Back in the 1950s, most Americans — not just in the South but across the nation — opposed interracial marriages. As blacks were migrating in large numbers to Northern cities, whites moved out of neighborhoods when they moved in.


Today things are different. Our president, twice elected with majorities of the vote, is the product of a mixed-race marriage. Black presence in neighborhoods no longer results in rapid white flight.


Yet many Americans have a desperate need to believe nothing has changed. They yearn for the moral clarity that enables almost all Americans today to retrospectively condemn the old Southern code.


The irony is that those who claim they lead the civil rights movement today have a vested psychological interest in denying its great triumph. 




Michael Barone is Senior Political Analyst for the Washington Examiner, co-author of The Almanac of American Politics and a contributor to Fox News.




RealClearPolitics – Articles



Forget the Old South: Trayvon Martin Was No Emmett Till

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Across US, people rally for "Justice for Trayvon"







Janine Jolicoeur grieves Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Miami over the death of her son, Kervin, who she says was killed in Miami Gardens under similar circumstances as Trayvon Martin. “I need justice for my son,” Jolicoeur said. She stands with the Hatian Women of Miami organization. One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against the former neighborhood watch leader, and to call for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Miami Herald, Alex M Sanchez) MAGS OUT





Janine Jolicoeur grieves Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Miami over the death of her son, Kervin, who she says was killed in Miami Gardens under similar circumstances as Trayvon Martin. “I need justice for my son,” Jolicoeur said. She stands with the Hatian Women of Miami organization. One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against the former neighborhood watch leader, and to call for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Miami Herald, Alex M Sanchez) MAGS OUT





Michael Kelly places his hands to his face as he prays during a rally during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT





An American Flag is held high during a rally at Big Spring International Park Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)





Maya White sits beneath protest signs during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT





People wait for a rally to begin, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)













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ATLANTA (AP) — Crowds chanted “Justice! Justice!” as people rallied in dozens of U.S. cities, urging authorities to press federal civil rights charges against a former neighborhood watch leader found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.


The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized the “Justice for Trayvon” rallies and vigils outside federal buildings Saturday in at least 101 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and other locations.


One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the 2012 shooting death of Martin in a gated central Florida community, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. They also called for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws.


“No justice! No peace!” some chanted. Many also sang hymns, prayed and held hands.


The Florida case has become a flashpoint in separate but converging national debates over self-defense, guns, and race relations. Zimmerman, who successfully claimed that he was protecting himself when he shot Martin, identifies himself as Hispanic. Martin was black.


In Atlanta, speakers noted that the rally there took place in the shadows of federal buildings named for two figures who had vastly differing views on civil rights and racial equality: Richard B. Russell was a Georgia governor and U.S. senator elected in the Jim Crow South; The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is the face of African-Americans’ civil rights movement.


“What’s so frightening about a black man in a hood?” said the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who now occupies the pulpit at King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, at the Atlanta rally.


In New York, hundreds of people — including Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and music superstars Jay-Z and Beyonce — gathered in the heat.


Fulton told the crowd she was determined to fight for changes needed to ensure that black youths are no longer viewed with suspicion because of their skin color.


“I promise you I’m going to work for your children as well,” she told the crowd.


Earlier Saturday, at Sharpton’s headquarters in Harlem, she implored people to understand that the tragedy involved more than Martin alone. “Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours,” she said.


In addition to pushing the Justice Department to investigate civil rights charges against Zimmerman, Sharpton told supporters In New York that he wants to see a rollback of “stand your ground” self-defense laws.


“We are trying to change laws so that this never, ever happens again,” Sharpton said.


“Stand your ground” laws are on the books in more than 20 states, and they go beyond many older, traditional self-defense statutes. In general, the newer laws eliminate a person’s duty to retreat, if possible, in the face of a serious physical threat.


Zimmerman didn’t invoke “stand your ground,” relying instead on a traditional self-defense argument, but the judge included a provision of the law in the jurors’ instructions, allowing them to consider it as a legitimate defense.


Neither was race discussed in front of the jury. But the two topics have dominated public discourse about the case, and came up throughout Saturday’s rallies.


In Indianapolis, the Rev. Jeffrey Johnson told roughly 200 attendees that Saturday’s nationwide rallies were about making life safer for young black men who are still endangered by racial profiling.


Johnson compared Zimmerman’s acquittal to that of four white officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King in 1992.


“The verdict freed George Zimmerman, but it condemned America more,” said Johnson, pastor of the Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis and a member of the board of directors of the National Action Network.


In Miami, Tracy Martin spoke about his son.


“This could be any one of our children,” he said. “Our mission now is to make sure that this doesn’t happen to your child.”


He recalled a promise he made to his son as he lay in his casket. “I will continue to fight for Trayvon until the day I die,” he said.


Shantescia Hill held a sign in Miami that read: “Every person deserves a safe walk home.” The 31-year-old mother, who is black, said, “I’m here because our children can’t even walk on the streets without fearing for their lives.”


Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that his department would investigate whether Zimmerman could be charged under federal civil rights laws. Such a case would require evidence that Zimmerman harbored racial animosity against Martin.


Most legal experts say that would be a difficult charge to prove. Zimmerman’s lawyers have said their client wasn’t driven by race, but by a desire to protect his neighborhood.


____


Associated Press writers Philip Lucas in Atlanta, Charles Wilson in Indianapolis, Christine Armario in Miami and Verena Dobnik in New York contributed to this report.


Associated Press




U.S. Headlines



Across US, people rally for "Justice for Trayvon"

Across US, people rally for "Justice for Trayvon"







Janine Jolicoeur grieves Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Miami over the death of her son, Kervin, who she says was killed in Miami Gardens under similar circumstances as Trayvon Martin. “I need justice for my son,” Jolicoeur said. She stands with the Hatian Women of Miami organization. One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against the former neighborhood watch leader, and to call for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Miami Herald, Alex M Sanchez) MAGS OUT





Janine Jolicoeur grieves Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Miami over the death of her son, Kervin, who she says was killed in Miami Gardens under similar circumstances as Trayvon Martin. “I need justice for my son,” Jolicoeur said. She stands with the Hatian Women of Miami organization. One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against the former neighborhood watch leader, and to call for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Miami Herald, Alex M Sanchez) MAGS OUT





Michael Kelly places his hands to his face as he prays during a rally during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT





An American Flag is held high during a rally at Big Spring International Park Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)





Maya White sits beneath protest signs during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT





People wait for a rally to begin, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)













Buy AP Photo Reprints







ATLANTA (AP) — Crowds chanted “Justice! Justice!” as people rallied in dozens of U.S. cities, urging authorities to press federal civil rights charges against a former neighborhood watch leader found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.


The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized the “Justice for Trayvon” rallies and vigils outside federal buildings Saturday in at least 101 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and other locations.


One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the 2012 shooting death of Martin in a gated central Florida community, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. They also called for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws.


“No justice! No peace!” some chanted. Many also sang hymns, prayed and held hands.


The Florida case has become a flashpoint in separate but converging national debates over self-defense, guns, and race relations. Zimmerman, who successfully claimed that he was protecting himself when he shot Martin, identifies himself as Hispanic. Martin was black.


In Atlanta, speakers noted that the rally there took place in the shadows of federal buildings named for two figures who had vastly differing views on civil rights and racial equality: Richard B. Russell was a Georgia governor and U.S. senator elected in the Jim Crow South; The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is the face of African-Americans’ civil rights movement.


“What’s so frightening about a black man in a hood?” said the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who now occupies the pulpit at King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, at the Atlanta rally.


In New York, hundreds of people — including Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and music superstars Jay-Z and Beyonce — gathered in the heat.


Fulton told the crowd she was determined to fight for changes needed to ensure that black youths are no longer viewed with suspicion because of their skin color.


“I promise you I’m going to work for your children as well,” she told the crowd.


Earlier Saturday, at Sharpton’s headquarters in Harlem, she implored people to understand that the tragedy involved more than Martin alone. “Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours,” she said.


In addition to pushing the Justice Department to investigate civil rights charges against Zimmerman, Sharpton told supporters In New York that he wants to see a rollback of “stand your ground” self-defense laws.


“We are trying to change laws so that this never, ever happens again,” Sharpton said.


“Stand your ground” laws are on the books in more than 20 states, and they go beyond many older, traditional self-defense statutes. In general, the newer laws eliminate a person’s duty to retreat, if possible, in the face of a serious physical threat.


Zimmerman didn’t invoke “stand your ground,” relying instead on a traditional self-defense argument, but the judge included a provision of the law in the jurors’ instructions, allowing them to consider it as a legitimate defense.


Neither was race discussed in front of the jury. But the two topics have dominated public discourse about the case, and came up throughout Saturday’s rallies.


In Indianapolis, the Rev. Jeffrey Johnson told roughly 200 attendees that Saturday’s nationwide rallies were about making life safer for young black men who are still endangered by racial profiling.


Johnson compared Zimmerman’s acquittal to that of four white officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King in 1992.


“The verdict freed George Zimmerman, but it condemned America more,” said Johnson, pastor of the Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis and a member of the board of directors of the National Action Network.


In Miami, Tracy Martin spoke about his son.


“This could be any one of our children,” he said. “Our mission now is to make sure that this doesn’t happen to your child.”


He recalled a promise he made to his son as he lay in his casket. “I will continue to fight for Trayvon until the day I die,” he said.


Shantescia Hill held a sign in Miami that read: “Every person deserves a safe walk home.” The 31-year-old mother, who is black, said, “I’m here because our children can’t even walk on the streets without fearing for their lives.”


Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that his department would investigate whether Zimmerman could be charged under federal civil rights laws. Such a case would require evidence that Zimmerman harbored racial animosity against Martin.


Most legal experts say that would be a difficult charge to prove. Zimmerman’s lawyers have said their client wasn’t driven by race, but by a desire to protect his neighborhood.


____


Associated Press writers Philip Lucas in Atlanta, Charles Wilson in Indianapolis, Christine Armario in Miami and Verena Dobnik in New York contributed to this report.


Associated Press




U.S. Headlines



Across US, people rally for "Justice for Trayvon"

Across US, people rally for "Justice for Trayvon"








Janine Jolicoeur grieves Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Miami over the death of her son, Kervin, who she says was killed in Miami Gardens under similar circumstances as Trayvon Martin. “I need justice for my son,” Jolicoeur said. She stands with the Hatian Women of Miami organization. One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against the former neighborhood watch leader, and to call for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Miami Herald, Alex M Sanchez) MAGS OUT





Janine Jolicoeur grieves Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Miami over the death of her son, Kervin, who she says was killed in Miami Gardens under similar circumstances as Trayvon Martin. “I need justice for my son,” Jolicoeur said. She stands with the Hatian Women of Miami organization. One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against the former neighborhood watch leader, and to call for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Miami Herald, Alex M Sanchez) MAGS OUT





Michael Kelly places his hands to his face as he prays during a rally during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT





An American Flag is held high during a rally at Big Spring International Park Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)





Maya White sits beneath protest signs during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT





People wait for a rally to begin, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)













Buy AP Photo Reprints







ATLANTA (AP) — Crowds chanted “Justice! Justice!” as people rallied in dozens of U.S. cities, urging authorities to press federal civil rights charges against a former neighborhood watch leader found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.


The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized the “Justice for Trayvon” rallies and vigils outside federal buildings Saturday in at least 101 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and other locations.


One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the 2012 shooting death of Martin in a gated central Florida community, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. They also called for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws.


“No justice! No peace!” some chanted. Many also sang hymns, prayed and held hands.


The Florida case has become a flashpoint in separate but converging national debates over self-defense, guns, and race relations. Zimmerman, who successfully claimed that he was protecting himself when he shot Martin, identifies himself as Hispanic. Martin was black.


In Atlanta, speakers noted that the rally there took place in the shadows of federal buildings named for two figures who had vastly differing views on civil rights and racial equality: Richard B. Russell was a Georgia governor and U.S. senator elected in the Jim Crow South; The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is the face of African-Americans’ civil rights movement.


“What’s so frightening about a black man in a hood?” said the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who now occupies the pulpit at King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, at the Atlanta rally.


In New York, hundreds of people — including Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and music superstars Jay-Z and Beyonce — gathered in the heat.


Fulton told the crowd she was determined to fight for changes needed to ensure that black youths are no longer viewed with suspicion because of their skin color.


“I promise you I’m going to work for your children as well,” she told the crowd.


Earlier Saturday, at Sharpton’s headquarters in Harlem, she implored people to understand that the tragedy involved more than Martin alone. “Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours,” she said.


In addition to pushing the Justice Department to investigate civil rights charges against Zimmerman, Sharpton told supporters In New York that he wants to see a rollback of “stand your ground” self-defense laws.


“We are trying to change laws so that this never, ever happens again,” Sharpton said.


“Stand your ground” laws are on the books in more than 20 states, and they go beyond many older, traditional self-defense statutes. In general, the newer laws eliminate a person’s duty to retreat, if possible, in the face of a serious physical threat.


Zimmerman didn’t invoke “stand your ground,” relying instead on a traditional self-defense argument, but the judge included a provision of the law in the jurors’ instructions, allowing them to consider it as a legitimate defense.


Neither was race discussed in front of the jury. But the two topics have dominated public discourse about the case, and came up throughout Saturday’s rallies.


In Indianapolis, the Rev. Jeffrey Johnson told roughly 200 attendees that Saturday’s nationwide rallies were about making life safer for young black men who are still endangered by racial profiling.


Johnson compared Zimmerman’s acquittal to that of four white officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King in 1992.


“The verdict freed George Zimmerman, but it condemned America more,” said Johnson, pastor of the Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis and a member of the board of directors of the National Action Network.


In Miami, Tracy Martin spoke about his son.


“This could be any one of our children,” he said. “Our mission now is to make sure that this doesn’t happen to your child.”


He recalled a promise he made to his son as he lay in his casket. “I will continue to fight for Trayvon until the day I die,” he said.


Shantescia Hill held a sign in Miami that read: “Every person deserves a safe walk home.” The 31-year-old mother, who is black, said, “I’m here because our children can’t even walk on the streets without fearing for their lives.”


Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that his department would investigate whether Zimmerman could be charged under federal civil rights laws. Such a case would require evidence that Zimmerman harbored racial animosity against Martin.


Most legal experts say that would be a difficult charge to prove. Zimmerman’s lawyers have said their client wasn’t driven by race, but by a desire to protect his neighborhood.


____


Associated Press writers Philip Lucas in Atlanta, Charles Wilson in Indianapolis, Christine Armario in Miami and Verena Dobnik in New York contributed to this report.


Associated Press




Top Headlines



Across US, people rally for "Justice for Trayvon"

Across US, people rally for "Justice for Trayvon"







Janine Jolicoeur grieves Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Miami over the death of her son, Kervin, who she says was killed in Miami Gardens under similar circumstances as Trayvon Martin. “I need justice for my son,” Jolicoeur said. She stands with the Hatian Women of Miami organization. One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against the former neighborhood watch leader, and to call for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Miami Herald, Alex M Sanchez) MAGS OUT





Janine Jolicoeur grieves Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Miami over the death of her son, Kervin, who she says was killed in Miami Gardens under similar circumstances as Trayvon Martin. “I need justice for my son,” Jolicoeur said. She stands with the Hatian Women of Miami organization. One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against the former neighborhood watch leader, and to call for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Miami Herald, Alex M Sanchez) MAGS OUT





Michael Kelly places his hands to his face as he prays during a rally during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT





An American Flag is held high during a rally at Big Spring International Park Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)





Maya White sits beneath protest signs during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT





People wait for a rally to begin, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized “Justice for Trayvon” rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)













Buy AP Photo Reprints







ATLANTA (AP) — Crowds chanted “Justice! Justice!” as people rallied in dozens of U.S. cities, urging authorities to press federal civil rights charges against a former neighborhood watch leader found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.


The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network organized the “Justice for Trayvon” rallies and vigils outside federal buildings Saturday in at least 101 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and other locations.


One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the 2012 shooting death of Martin in a gated central Florida community, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. They also called for changes in the nation’s self-defense laws.


“No justice! No peace!” some chanted. Many also sang hymns, prayed and held hands.


The Florida case has become a flashpoint in separate but converging national debates over self-defense, guns, and race relations. Zimmerman, who successfully claimed that he was protecting himself when he shot Martin, identifies himself as Hispanic. Martin was black.


In Atlanta, speakers noted that the rally there took place in the shadows of federal buildings named for two figures who had vastly differing views on civil rights and racial equality: Richard B. Russell was a Georgia governor and U.S. senator elected in the Jim Crow South; The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is the face of African-Americans’ civil rights movement.


“What’s so frightening about a black man in a hood?” said the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who now occupies the pulpit at King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, at the Atlanta rally.


In New York, hundreds of people — including Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and music superstars Jay-Z and Beyonce — gathered in the heat.


Fulton told the crowd she was determined to fight for changes needed to ensure that black youths are no longer viewed with suspicion because of their skin color.


“I promise you I’m going to work for your children as well,” she told the crowd.


Earlier Saturday, at Sharpton’s headquarters in Harlem, she implored people to understand that the tragedy involved more than Martin alone. “Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours,” she said.


In addition to pushing the Justice Department to investigate civil rights charges against Zimmerman, Sharpton told supporters In New York that he wants to see a rollback of “stand your ground” self-defense laws.


“We are trying to change laws so that this never, ever happens again,” Sharpton said.


“Stand your ground” laws are on the books in more than 20 states, and they go beyond many older, traditional self-defense statutes. In general, the newer laws eliminate a person’s duty to retreat, if possible, in the face of a serious physical threat.


Zimmerman didn’t invoke “stand your ground,” relying instead on a traditional self-defense argument, but the judge included a provision of the law in the jurors’ instructions, allowing them to consider it as a legitimate defense.


Neither was race discussed in front of the jury. But the two topics have dominated public discourse about the case, and came up throughout Saturday’s rallies.


In Indianapolis, the Rev. Jeffrey Johnson told roughly 200 attendees that Saturday’s nationwide rallies were about making life safer for young black men who are still endangered by racial profiling.


Johnson compared Zimmerman’s acquittal to that of four white officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King in 1992.


“The verdict freed George Zimmerman, but it condemned America more,” said Johnson, pastor of the Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis and a member of the board of directors of the National Action Network.


In Miami, Tracy Martin spoke about his son.


“This could be any one of our children,” he said. “Our mission now is to make sure that this doesn’t happen to your child.”


He recalled a promise he made to his son as he lay in his casket. “I will continue to fight for Trayvon until the day I die,” he said.


Shantescia Hill held a sign in Miami that read: “Every person deserves a safe walk home.” The 31-year-old mother, who is black, said, “I’m here because our children can’t even walk on the streets without fearing for their lives.”


Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that his department would investigate whether Zimmerman could be charged under federal civil rights laws. Such a case would require evidence that Zimmerman harbored racial animosity against Martin.


Most legal experts say that would be a difficult charge to prove. Zimmerman’s lawyers have said their client wasn’t driven by race, but by a desire to protect his neighborhood.


____


Associated Press writers Philip Lucas in Atlanta, Charles Wilson in Indianapolis, Christine Armario in Miami and Verena Dobnik in New York contributed to this report.


Associated Press




U.S. Headlines



Across US, people rally for "Justice for Trayvon"